St. Anthony defeats Hudson Catholic in Non-Public B basketball final Led by a dominant defense, St. Anthony, No. 1 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, won its fourth straight sectional title as it defeated No. 2 Hudson Catholic, 57-42 in the NJSIAA/ShopRite North Jersey, Non-Public B final at Rutgers' Louis Brown Athletic Center in Piscataway. With the victory, St. Anthony will face Roselle Catholic, the South Jersey, Non-Public B winner, in Saturday's Non-Public B final at the Pine Belt Arena in Toms River. (Video by Andre Malok/The Star-Ledger)

Josh Brown's competitiveness and physical nature on the court were not developed in a gym. These attributes were the product of pickup games of basketball, football and baseball on the street corners of Irvington when he was younger.

The development of these attributes has made Brown one of the state's most complete players and a First Team All-State selection by The Star-Ledger.

"It was always competitive and guys would push each other," Brown said. "Everyone wanted to win so bad, so it's kind of like second nature to you. You just want to win so badly, you'll do anything to win."

Brown, a 6-3, 180-pound guard going to Temple, has enjoyed plenty of winning during his three years at St. Anthony. He was a key component of two NJSIAA Tournament of Champions winners and this past season was the catalyst for the Jersey City school's fourth straight North Jersey, Non-Public B championship.

Brown averaged 15 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks per game.

"We played him everywhere," St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley said. "He played the point and in a lot of games he was our leading rebounder. He was our best driver and he was also our best post-up player. He filled an awful lot of roles for us."

The biggest of Brown's roles was as a defensive stopper for Hurley. Every night, Brown was asked to defend the other team's top offensive player. It was that defense that defines Brown and his background.

"I just take pride in defense. It's toughness," Brown said. "I grew up in a strong background, a tough background. When I'm on the court, I'm a tough player.

"I pride myself in it, but I wouldn't say I'm coming out here trying to be tougher than everybody or show that I'm the biggest guy and the meanest. I just go out there and it's just my game. It's what I do. It's just a mentality that I have."

Brown may not be the best scorer, the best passer or the most skilled player to play for the legendary program, but his toughness and versatility has allowed him to achieve his place in the team's history and earn these words of praise from his Hall of Fame coach.

"He plays so hard, he was so versatile and such a competitive kid, he could've played on all the teams that I've had over the years," Hurley said. "We would have found a way to utilize him and the talents he has to make any particular team that we had successful."